Violence Against Dalits: Two Boys Beaten up For Bathing in a Well in Maharashtra

Two Dalit boys, aged 15 and 16, were beaten with a belt, stripped and paraded in Pahur village in Jamner taluka in Maharashtra. They were subjected to the violence because they allegedly took a bath in a well which belonged to a man from a supposedly upper caste. The incident took place on June 10. The Maharashtra police arrested the alleged attackers on the same day. This act was captured on camera, and the video went viral on social media. In the video, the boys were seen covering themselves with leaves as the assailants assaulted them. This helped the police nab the attackers, identified as Ishwar Joshi and Prahlad Lohar. The boys had gone for a swim in the well, belonging to Joshi, a farmer in the Wakadi village.

“While returning home after swimming, both the teenagers were caught by Joshi and his farm worker Prahlad Lohar,” reported PTI.

Parents of the boys learnt of the incident when the video became viral, following which, they approached the Pahur police.

Senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse, Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, Maharashtra Congress President Ashok Chavan and former state minister Laxman Dhobale condemned the incident and demanded stringent action against the accused.

In a statement issued to The Indian Express, Chavan said, “Atrocities against Dalits have increased after the BJP came to power. Several instances of attacks against Dalits across states have been reported. The government is not doing enough to act against those who are attacking Dalits.”

Incidents of violence against Dalits have increased by 25 per cent between 2006 and 2016. According to the data from the IndiaSpend’s analysis of 2016 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, there is an increase from 16.3 crimes per 1,00,000 Dalits reported in 2006 to 20.3 crimes in 2016.

However, the cases pending police investigation for both Dalits and Adivasis have risen by 99 per cent and 55 per cent respectively, while the pendency in the courts has risen by 50 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively. The conviction rates for the crimes against SCs and STs have fallen by 2 per cent and 7 per cent respectively – bringing them down to 26 per cent and 21 per cent – between 2006 and 2016.